Mississippi River Pool 7 Panfish Report

Thursday afternoon I was greeted at the door by my smiling kids. Grinning ear to ear anxiously waiting for me to get out of my truck. Once through the door it was hugs and kisses for me, always a welcome gift from a long day at work.

My 5yr old Daughter Mattison asks "Can we go fishing please?" "Yeah!" says Wil, my 3yr old Son "fissing!!"

Normally I’m all for packing up and hitting that water, but Thursday I was running late from work and the chances of getting my 2 kids on the water for an enjoyable afternoon/evening were slim at best. Time wasn’t on our side Thursday.

When my Daughter asks me to go fishing, I’m always reminded of the ‘Take Me Fishing’ ad campaign. The one where the litte girl says "Take me fishing, ’cause my wedding will be sooner than you think." I have no doubt that will be true. As I mentioned, my Matti is 5 and I have no recollection of those 5 years. Or the 3 years my Son has been with us. Time’s been flying by, and I’m trying to make the best of it all.

After breaking 2 little hearts and telling them tonight wasn’t the night, but tomorrow(Friday) would be better, I made plans to get everyone on the water for some much needed R & R.

Once again, I pulled into the driveway and was met with a wave of hugs and kisses followed by "Are we going fishing??" As they always say, a promise made is a promise kept. "Sure" I said, "Let’s do it!"

First we had to dig some worms. There’s no better place to do that than Grampa’s worm bed. After a quick stop at Grampa’s worm bed we hooked up the boat and headed for the ramp.

The report I’d been hearing was the snags were loaded and the Bluegills are more than willing to stretch a line. I’m hear to tell you, that report was dead on. We had a great night on the water. The size wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but our intentions were to have fun, drink some soda, play a little with the worms, and maybe, just maybe catch a fish. I had no hopes or dreams of filling the livewell, much less cleaning any fish. I wanted to show my kids how to catch fish and have fun. Mission accomplished!

The one thing I know about taking kids fishing, is to keep it simple. Our gear for the night consisted of Cane Poles and Bobbers. No fancy rods or reels to drop in the water or baitcasters to backlash.

We targeted Panfish on wood in about 7-8 feet of water, fishing only 3 feet deep. Normally I keep repositioning the boat off various snags until I find some active fish, but on this night our first spot was our only spot.

If I would have been by myself, I would have moved as the fish were rather small, but the kids loved it and had a lot of fun. That to me is what it’s all about. The smiling faces on the way home followed by the "Thank You’s" was all I needed to see and hear. We’ll be doing this again soon.

Take a child fishing. There’s nothing more fun or rewarding that I know of. <img src="http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif" alt="" />